The Department of Rural and Community Development are looking for submission on the Terms of Reference for the Review of the Community Services Programme;

CWI support for Rohingya Community Ireland;

CWI support for the Raise the Roof Campaign;

Sinn Féin MEP, Martina Anderson invites you to discuss Brexit;

CWI press statement on the comments made during the presidential campaign;

A reminder of the call for articles for the CWI Newsletter.

Get in touch – email us at info@communityworkireland.ie

DRCD Review of the Community Services Programme

The Department of Rural and Community Development assumed responsibility for the Community Services Programme earlier this year. The Department have announced a review of the CSP and have committed to comprehensive consultation at all stages of the review with CSP supported organisations and national representative organisations in the community development, local development, social enterprise and community and voluntary sectors.The review will be carried out by an independent body on behalf of the Department over a six month period from February 2019 and a steering group will be established to oversee the review and to provide strategic oversight and direction.

The first stage of the review involves a consultation process on the Terms of Reference. The purpose is to receive input on the draft scope of the review and ensure that as broad a range of issues are considered and to allow an opportunity for interested stakeholders to provide early feedback, while all options are still open for consideration. All submissions will be considered and if deemed appropriate the scope will be amended to reflect any relevant feedback.

Submissions (max 1,000 words) are now invited and should be sent by email to csp@drcd.gov.ie by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, 14 November 2018.

Rohingya Community Ireland
One of the highlights of the World Community Development Conference in the summer was the exhibition by the Rohingya Community Ireland which provided a vivid description of the atrocities being perpetrated against the Roingya people on an ongoing basis.
As part of our ongoing support, CWI recently welcomed the Royhingya Community Ireland as a new CWI member and wrote to Mayor of Galway Councillor Niall McNelis urging him to withdraw the freedom of Galwy city from Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Ky, conferred upon her by Galway City Council in June 2005. See the letter below.

CWI recently showed its support for the Raise the Roof Campaign by attending the National Protest on October 3rd and by contributing to the press statement – see below for CWI’s contribution.

Community Work Ireland’s Rachel Doyle said: “The housing crisis is affecting whole communities throughout Ireland and particularly those who experience the highest levels of poverty, inequality and social exclusion including Travellers, migrants, lone parents. Provision of appropriate, sustainable and quality housing and accommodation are central to the realisation of social, cultural and economic rights. Collective responses to this issue are key to empowering communities and ensuring that the voices of those directly affected by the issues are heard and that housing and accommodation rights in Ireland are realised as a matter of urgency.”

CWI members are invited to a meeting to disuses the implications of Brexit by Martina Anderson MEP on Friday November 9th in the European Commission Office, 14 Mount Street Lower, Grand Canal Dock, Dublin 1 from 9.30am to 1.30pm5

The press statement issued by CWI on the remarks made by one of the candidates in the Presidential election is below for your information

Presidential candidate, Peter Casey’s remarks on Travellers have served to stir up and incite negative and inflammatory reactions towards Travellers in Ireland. “We have reached a serious low in relation to this campaign where racist attitudes, negative stereotyping and the targeting of already marginalised communities is rewarded by media and those who have always rejected Travellers, their culture and way of life” said Rachel Doyle of Community Work Ireland.

“It is heartening that the other 5 candidates in the campaign have taken a stand against this degrading form of electioneering and have stood in solidarity with Travellers in their ongoing struggle for recognition and human rights”, she added.

“The appalling social, economic and cultural situation of Travellers in Ireland has been criticised internationally for decades by bodies such as the United Nations and the Council of Europe. Travellers continue to experience extremely high levels of poverty, social exclusion, discrimination, educational disadvantage, unemployment, mental health issues, suicide rates, infant mortality rates and low life expectancy. Their voices are all too often excluded from the decision-making processes that affect their lives. Preying on this community and stirring further hatred against them illustrates a sinister and deeply disturbing attitude on the part of Peter Casey. This type of behaviour denigrates the office of President and opens a door for people to express anti-Traveller sentiment. It cannot go unchallenged. Community Work Ireland is calling on Peter Casey to withdraw his remarks and supports the call by Pavee Point and other national Traveller organisations for Peter Casey to withdraw from the Presidential campaign”, added Ann Irwin of Community Work Ireland.

Community work Ireland publishes the newsletter Community Work News. We are looking for articles for the forthcoming winter 2018 editionNot enough is written about community development/community work in Ireland. Community workers are often reluctant to write but it is critical that we begin to document best practice or interesting work.Put pen to paper or finger to keyboard and get those articles in!!!!

We are particularly interested in articles that feature creative, interesting examples of community work/community development in your community. We are also interested in articles that capture events or responses to issues of the day.If you are interested or for further information please email